Fools Can’t Catch Colds
by Shorterofbreath
Summary: After Kenny moves in with the Golds when his father kicks him out for being gay, he feels like an inconvenience, which ends up getting him into some difficulties. No pairings. Just a sickfic with fluff. One shot.


Hey this is my first ever fanfiction, but also please judge me as hard as you want. Be cruel. I don't care. I can take some criticism. I'll even let you curse. Go wild, just know that _you_ decided to read this so it's _your_ fault.

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own _The War At Home_ nor do I wish to because the show sucks. I only watched it for Kenny.

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 _'Of course,'_ Kenny thought to himself as he walked out from school, _'Of_ course _it's raining.'_

He looked out at the groups of other "normal" teens running to their cars or the buses, holding backpacks or disregarded newspapers over their heads. He could even see Larry, his best friend,(and only friend) running along with Hillary and Mikey into their dad's car.

Kenny smiled solemnly. After his dad kicked him out of the house for being gay, Larry's family had graciously accepted him into their household as one of their own. But, he never wanted to be a burden to them, so he always told Larry's mom and dad that he got a ride home after school. Kenny didn't want to squeeze into their already full car and inconvenience them further after they already helped him so much. He walked instead.

But today...today he encountered something new. Rain.

 _'Oh well,'_ Kenny thought _, 'It was bound to happen sometime.'_

He shrugged and calmly walked out into the pouring rain. The house wasn't far any way.

 **LINEBREAKLINEBREAKLINEBREAKLINEBREAK**

 ***Vicky's POV***

Something was wrong. Vicky was getting that feeling. That Mother Sense* that tingled on the back of her neck.

She watched as her three children and Dave walked through the door, wet from the rain outside. Larry and Hillary were already arguing about...something and Mikey had bolted off to his room as soon as the door opened. All of this was normal, but she just couldn't shake the feeling.

"Heyyy Honey." Dave said leaning in for a kiss.

Vicky indulged him, "Hey to you too." She returned to what she was doing before, making, _yet again_ , another meal that was most likely going to be under appreciated by all except Kenny.

Kenny.

She thought about him. In this rain. Sure he had a ride home, but was he really going to be okay?

 _'He's going to be just fine. He's always been fine!'_ Vicky's optimistic internal thoughts reminded her, _'Yeah, up until he came out to his parents and got disowned.'_ The pessimistic thoughts countered.

As Dave headed over to the T.V. with a beer, she continued to chop lettuce for this night's salad. Just as she was getting herself all worked up, Kenny walked through the door, soaked through and totally drenched. Vicky picked up on the fact he was shivering.

"Kenny!" She said. She set the knife for chopping lettuce down and went over to him.

He smiled sweetly, but shakily, "Hi Mrs. Gold."

"Kenny, good lord you're freezing! And you're dripping wet!" Vicky said as she touched his arm.

His eyes widened, "Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry if I'm messing up your floors! I'll clean it up right away!"

"No no no no! That's not what I meant at all! What I mean is...go take a shower. Wearing cold, wet clothes is going to get you sick!"

"Yeah go take a shower, Kenny," Dave said from the T.V., "just as long as you don't waste too much hot water!"

Kenny nodded, his eyes turned downcast, "I'm pretty tired so I'm just gonna go to bed after my shower. Is that okay?"

Vicky softened even more toward him, "Of course it's alright. Just go take a one." She gently shoved him away.

He awkwardly saluted back before heading away, "Yes ma'm."

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 ***Kenny's POV***

He was going to take a shower, he really was, until Mr. Gold made that comment about hot water.

Kenny realized that taking a shower now would probably waste their money just so he could be a little warmer and more comfortable.

As soon as he turned away from the well meaning Mrs. Gold, he immediately headed down to his decrepit "room" in the basement.

 _'Don't say decrepit,'_ He chided himself, _'They were more then generous to lend you this space and room.'_

Kenny thought back to before he arrived at the house.

 ***Flashback***

 _Kenny walked down the street toward the Gold's house. As the rain pelted onto his skin he suddenly realized that he had severely underestimated the distance to the house._

'If I don't hurry soon Mrs.Gold is gonna know something is up.' _Kenny thought to himself._

 _He picked up the pace and started a run towards the house. As he jogged forward, the rain seemed to get more intense. Kenny focused on the street names as he weaved through them._

 _Just as Kenny thought he was through the worst, the world yet again decided to betray him as he felt himself lose his footing. His foot slid forward as the ground was fast approaching. He landed on his stomach._

 _It stung._

 _But he had to keep going. He picked himself off of the ground as his ribs protested with spiking pain. He started off with a gentle jog and then as soon as he spotted the Gold house he picked up the pace again._

 _He paused in front of the door before slowly walking in._

 ***End Flashback***

Kenny sighed as he face planted onto his bed. The cold was seeping into his skin. He shed his drenched jacked onto the floor, but didn't have the energy to change clothes. He wasn't lying when he said he was tired.

He rolled over onto his back and rubbed his sore ribs. They seared in pain when he touched it and yet it was comforting anyways.

Kenny yawned. His vision was dimming as he pulled the sheets over himself, still sopping wet. And he was soon fast asleep, shivering and cold.

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The next morning when Kenny woke up, he immediately knew something was wrong.

His head was in pain and his vision blurry. He felt a pressure in his chest as he wheezed out a weak cough.

 _'Oh great, I'm sick'_ Kenny thought, sarcastically.

 _'I can't let Mr. and Mrs.Gold know. They can't worry over me. I'm not their child.'_

Kenny picked himself off the bed and set his feet on the floor. His head swam. He shook it off and carefully headed up the stairs.

When he opened up the door he could see that Mrs.Gold was already working on breakfast. Thank god it was a Saturday. He was in no condition to go to school, but unfortunately this way it would be harder to hide his cold.

Before he approached the kitchen he suddenly realized he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday and they were still damp too.

Kenny quickly sped down to the basement and threw on his pajamas and ran upstairs into the kitchen.

Mrs.Gold's eyes widened as he zoomed into the room, "Wow. Someone's really eager for breakfast aren't they!" She laughed.

Kenny laughed nervously, "Yep...I'm just...so hungry!"

His vision blurred from the sudden movement that running had given him, but he desperately tried not to sway.

Mrs.Gold was oblivious, though, as she laughed and ushered him into a kitchen chair. Then, Kenny had the startling realization that he wasn't hungry at all. In fact, food sounded off putting at best.

He tried to hide his grimace behind a smile.

The three Gold children trudged down the stairs. Kenny glanced over. They said mumbled good mornings as they robotically sat down in their kitchen chairs.

Mr.Gold followed soon after.

Not long into the meal (Kenny was picking at it and shoveling it to the side of the plate) another argument broke out. This time in between Hillary and her dad. Their voices grated in Kenny's ears. His headache was growing immensely along with his nausea and sudden aversion to food.

He stood up to put his dish away and his head was swimming once again. Kenny grabbed the table for support.

"Kenny, are you alright?" It was Mrs.Gold. She sounded far away in Kenny's ears. He hadn't even realized he'd been scrunching his eyes closed in pain and dizziness.

He forced them open, but didn't trust himself to open his mouth. He opted for a short nod instead.

Mrs.Gold looked concerned, "Are you sure? You look really pale."

Dave finally spoke up, "God damn it, Vicky. Leave the kid alone. If he says he's fine, he's fine. End of discussion." He was obviously still bitter from his current argument with his daughter.

Kenny was secretly thankful for Mr.Gold's obliviousness. He shakily walked to the sink and winced as he suddenly remembered his fall the previous day. He sucked in a breath as he put a hand to his rib cage. It hurt a little less, but still wasn't pain free.

Kenny set the dish in the sink, but didn't try to wash it. He didn't have the energy. He was about to walk to the couch when he heard Mikey.

"Ha! Look at you Kenny. You're finally becoming one of us now; soon it won't just be not washing dishes, but also not taking out the trash either."

Kenny winced, and this time not from pain. He felt guilty about making Mrs.Gold do all the cleaning up. He headed back to the kitchen to clean up his dish.

"Kenny, sweetheart, you don't have to do that." He heard Mrs.Gold say, but he suddenly froze. He got a massive wave of dizziness after drying off his plate. He knew he was swaying.

"Kenny?" The voice sounded even farther this time. He couldn't keep it up anymore, and before he knew it, the floor was coming in for an impact, but his vision had already faded to black.

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 ***Vicky's POV***

As she watched Kenny unsteadily trudge back to the sink, she really knew something was wrong. As soon as he froze, however, her Mom Mode was activated into full-blown worry. She called out his name, but he didn't respond.

Then he collapsed out of nowhere.

Dave, in an uncommon show of care and worry leapt to catch Kenny before he hit the ground. He gently picked Kenny up bridal style and carefully set him on the couch.

Vicky raced over as well as her kids, who were unusually quiet.

She took a look at the unconscious boy she considered one of her own children. His breathing was wheezy and unsteady and his face looked pained. There were small beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He looked like death warmed over.

Overwhelmed with concern, she placed a gentle hand on his forehead. He was burning up.

"Larry, can you get me the thermometer?" Vicky asked, turning to her son. He nodded and sped off for one.

Mikey, never one to show any concern, looked at her with upturned eyebrows, "Is he gonna be okay?"

Vicky sighed, equally concerned, "I don't know."

Larry returned with a thermometer in record time. Vicky immediately plucked it from his hand and headed over to her ill surrogate son. She gently placed it under his tongue as she pet his forehead.

Soon the thermometer beeped. She carefully pulled it out of Kenny's mouth and held up the screen to see.

Dave let out a low whistle, "103.2. That's not cool."

"This is no time for a pun, Dad." Hillary snapped.

Instead of fighting back like he normally would, Dave simply nodded instead.

"We can't just leave him here on the couch. Dave, help me move him to the bedroom." Vicky stated.

"The basement?"

"No, that's probably not a good environment for him right now," she thought, "He can stay in our room."

"In _our room?_ What?!"

Vicky shushed him, "Where else, Larry's room?"

Dave visibly grimaced and that was all the confirmation she needed.

He lifted the incredibly light boy into another bridal carry again. Kenny's head rested on his shoulder as he let out a soft, but pained wheeze.

Vicky watched as he carried the boy up the stairs. She followed him into their bedroom and helped lay Kenny under the covers.

"I'll go call a doctor." Dave stated, being surprisingly rational. He walked out to make the call.

Vicky turned to Kenny. His eyebrows were upturned and forehead scrunched upwards in a display of pain and discomfort, as if he were having a nightmare.

She rested a hand on his forehead again. Still hot. As if it was going to change.

Vicky headed into the master bathroom and filled a bowl with cool water. She took one of the smaller towels off the rack, folded it neatly and then soaked it in the bowl.

She walked back into their bedroom, bowl and towel in hand. Vicky placed them on the nightstand and sat on the edge of the bed. She placed the cool towel on his burning forehead.

His face relaxed almost immediately in what to Vicky seemed like comfort and relief. She smiled slightly. Kenny really did look so young like this.

She pet his head once more before standing up to go see if Dave got a doctor to come.

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 ***Kenny's POV***

His head was pounding.

Where was he? He could hear the distant sounds of voices, but all he could see was black.

"...doctor...high temperature...okay?...when...wakes up...call...bruising..."

Everything was fading in and out. It was starting to bother him. His vision was getting lighter, though.

He felt a gentle and welcome hand caress his forehead and the sudden feeling of a cool cloth being draped on it. Kenny hadn't even realized he'd been hot until the coolness was there.

Things were getting clearer.

"...so if his fever gets any higher I recommend taking him to the hospital."

 _'The hospital!? Fever?!'_

Kenny then heard another voice. This one he recognized, "Alright. Thank you, doctor." It was Mrs. Gold.

He forced himself to open his eyes. The light was blinding, but he didn't care. He couldn't stay there just listening forever.

Kenny tried to sit up, but the pain in his ribs came back. He gasped and started coughing painfully.

He then felt hands gently push him back onto the bed. He looked up to see Mr. and Mrs.Gold as well as someone he had never seen before. He was probably the doctor they had been talking to.

"Hello, Kenny." The presumed doctor said.

Kenny tried to respond back, but it came out as more of a pathetic choke. Mrs.Gold quickly grabbed a glass of water and helped him soothe his dry and abused throat.

"Hi," Kenny rasped. He turned to the Gold parents, "what happened?"

"You fainted with a fever and you have bruising near your ribs from a recent injury." The doctor answered for the parents.

It was only then that Kenny realized his midsection was wrapped in something, most likely a bandage.

"Anyways," the doctor said, turning to the two concerned parents, "alert me if his condition changes or take him to a hospital." He gave a curt nod and headed out of the room.

Mrs.Gold along with her husband turned to Kenny, "Hey sweety. How are you feeling?"

"Uhh...my head kinda hurts and everything's hot, wait, no no, it's cold," He shivered, "and my ribs hurt, but really I'm fine."

"You're not fine kid." Mr.Gold said, "You gave us a real scare there, passing out in the kitchen and stuff. You gotta take care of yourself more, ya little weirdo."

"Dave is right, Kenny. And how did you manage to hurt yourself? Is someone bullying you?"

"What?! No no no no! I just slipped when I was running here in the rain yesterday!" As soon as Kenny said it, he knew he messed up. He covered his mouth in surprise.

Both parents' eyes widened.

"Kenny you ran here in the rain? I thought you had a ride!" Mrs.Gold questioned.

Kenny felt like the world was closing in on him. He was suffocating under their stares. So he started coughing. It was painful with his bruised ribs and headache.

Mrs.Gold's eyes softened, but she still pressed on the topic, "Kenny?"

He took a deep breath and looked down as if he were in trouble, "The truth is...there is no ride," he felt ashamed, "I just said there was because I didn't want to inconvenience you guys any more than you already were. You went way out of your way to help me from living on the streets, I didn't want to overcrowd your life. I'm sorry."

Kenny felt scared of their reaction. It was like coming out all over again, but he forced himself to look up.

Their faces were sad.

"Oh Kenny you were never an inconvenience to us. In fact you were actually having a better affect on our children then we were." Mrs.Gold laughed, "You don't have to feel that way at all sweety. We're sorry for not noticing sooner. But you shouldn't not take care of yourself on our account."

Mr.Gold added in a quick 'yeah'.

"I know. It was irrational, but I just couldn't help it. I know the consequences now." Kenny coughed. His head was starting to spin.

Their faces softened, "Well just because we want you to take better care of yourself doesn't mean we don't want you to stop doing the dishes and trash. That's just too wonderful." They laughed. Kenny joined in.

He smiled, "It's the least I could do." He coughed a few wheezes into the crook of his elbow and groaned.

"Get some rest, Kenny." Mrs.Gold said, motherly. She pet his forehead and pushed his hair backwards. His eyes closed with the comforting contact. His dizziness dissipating along with his consciousness.

And just before he was completely out, Kenny felt a gentle kiss on his forehead and a quiet, "Love you."

 **The End**

Aye I guess that's my first story. I hoped you liked it even thought there are like maybe two people in the world who are actually in this fandom. Hope you had fun reading the only decent fanfic for it that's not a romantic ship between Larry and Kenny or Dylan and Kenny.

Thanks!


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